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Digital
History>Virtual
Exhibits>Frederick
Douglass' Letter to Mary Todd Lincoln
Frederick
Douglass' Letter to Mary Todd Lincoln
In this letter,
Douglass thanks recently widowed Mary Todd Lincoln
for her gift of Abraham Lincoln's walking cane.
Douglass' relationship with
Lincoln had been complex. In the 1860 presidential election,
he broke with the Radical Abolitionist party to support Lincoln,
the candidate of the new Republican party. Lincoln did not
advocate outright abolition of slavery, but he did vigorously
oppose its extension into the territories. Douglass saw opportunity
for progress with a party that had a chance of victory.
After the election and the
outbreak of the Civil War, Douglass continually urged President
Lincoln to move more swiftly on emancipation and recruitment
of black troops. Though frustrated at times with the president's
pace on these matters, Douglass was ultimately convinced of
Lincoln's significant contributions to the advancement of
African-Americans.
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